I am officially boring. But still posting!

Say what. Oh, dear. If any of this return involves interacting with Horatio, as one can only presume it does, this can only end horribly. This may destroy my actual memories of my default-icon OTP. I am almost positive I don't want this at all! Dear CSI franchise, what is with your sudden determination to resurrect the deceased wives of crime lab heads this year? ~~~~~~~Summer is flying by me and I still can't find the spare time to focus on any of the TV shows I'm meant to be getting into or caught up on. Not that this stopped me from picking up season 1 of Scrubs at the library, because this is a quiet syndication-based obsession but it has taken deep, deep root and has surprising strength and staying power. Now I have DVD features to play with!

I am generally not very enamored of season 1, at least in the first half, where everyone is so young-looking and foolish and even the lighting seems drab and gray (this seems to be characteristic of many first seasons, this muted tone. It's weird. I don't know if it's real or only in my head in comparison to other seasons). And by young, I mean "they are way too close to my current age and way more accomplished with their lives."

On the other hand, it also has Ben, and that delightful never-quite-capitalized subplot in which Cox is in love with Carla, and while Turk/Carla was originally my OTP when I watched scattered episodes prior to last year, and Jordan/Perry is my OTP now, this is my Wayward Ship for life. Although I can't seem to tune out Carla's little "You don't love me, you idealize me" line every time I try to go down that road. Bad memory, bad! Don't be so good at your job!

Anyway, I pretty much whittled away my entire afternoon and evening watching random episodes -- despite my prejudice, they get better once the characters are well established and the show has passed the fall curve, past the risk point of being canceled without warning in infancy.

Also watched every single bonus feature -- not only are there about a thousand, but all of them are interesting and there is no wasted space! -- including all the audio commentaries. So many commentaries! At least 5. And unlike other shows that routinely pawn you off on directors and producers, you get all showrunner + stars. I am genuinely impressed. I want to talk about them, but words fail me. Everything was too much fun to break it down. Except I do love how Sarah Chalke looks like their teenage daughter in this part of one interview after the women crash it.

As tempted as I am to run down the entire list of episodes and do an Office-style reactionary paragraph, just because I don't have any actual reviews for this show, I'm refraining. Like they say, there are just too many stories crammed into each. And it'll ruin all the surprise of reruns. Better to keep all my memories vague and jumbled. However, I do want to mention my top 5, plus a couple that fail:

1 & 2, not in that order: My Occurrence & My Hero: I think we've well established how much I love Brendan Fraser and all his characters at this point, but Ben is one of my favorites. This show always makes me laugh, but his lines crack me up even more than usual. Both episodes are just fantastic: the former features Nicole Sullivan/Tracy, whose comedy I just adore, and I love the second because it's one of the first and still best times you get an actual sense of Feelings with Dr. Cox. That last scene with Ben always makes me grin like a fool.

[These are also the only two that could make my list of all-time Series Favorites, which is part of why I associate season 1 with dull times in my head.]

3. My Bad: It contains Jordan. There are three characters making the season worthwhile at this point, and she's one of them.

4. My Last Day: More Jordan! Plus, that last scene with her "stirring things up" is one of my favorites across the series.

5. My Way or the Highway: O hai there, Scott Foley. I also like the Cox vs. Kelso war over the nurse firings.

Honorable Mention Despite Being Mostly Dull: My Tuscaloosa Heart: You've got your OTP, your Wayward Ship, and you've even got Wayward Ship 2.0 in the form of the med student bringing stupid smitten grins to Cox's face. Granted, having the first two blows the third up, but it was fun for the two episodes she was around! (My Student is probably the real H.M. here. It depends how I feel about JD's student on a given day.)

Season Clunker/Unwatchable: "My Bed Banter and Beyond." This is the first of a mercifully limited number of times that JD and Elliot gross me out with one of their hookups, but it is by far the worst, watching them roll around half naked in bed all day. Taking breaks only to snarf pizza (without actually leaving the bed) somehow just adds to the skankiness. *repressed gagging* The only thing worth viewing twice in this episode, at all, is the insight from Dr. Cox about why his marriage fell apart.

[Note: This may, in fact, qualify for one of The Worst Episodes Of All Time. It's just that nauseating.]

Second worst: an episode I hadn't seen before, "My Super Ego." Confirmed that I consistently want to smack Sean Hayes no matter what he does.

You think there is a clever ending to this section, but it apparently just stops. I just keep getting distracted by either the DVDs or looking stuff up online. For the first time, I feel like I'm fully immersed in the show like I would be for a show that has a fandom. I know real-life backstories and the names of people who aren't necessarily on camera. It's great. And to think, there are seven more sets to enjoy! This show is such warm and cozy comfort food, I almost regret not knowing it while it was on the air. ------------------Hey, I found some current TV. Pretty Little Liars. Back to clip packages this week. Thank god. So much nicer and cleaner. If I'd gone one more week with the hunt and gathering option, I would have started feeling like the murder mystery plot was relevant.

OTP: I see we're starting out nauseating me, then. One of the great mysteries of the dating world is that I just do not understand why you would ever want to get close enough to so much as touch someone who is obviously sweaty. There is, in fact, almost nothing grosser. I'm gavomiting as we speak at the sight of this kiss.

Entirely too much plot so far, as evidenced by the way I perked up at the sight of Aria near Ezra on the phone call, and I can't wait to wrap this part up and move on over to that thread. Ooh, final minute! There's the comforting I come for. ("When I came down the stairs and I saw what he was doing, I thought, Oh my God, he thinks I killed her. " / "He couldn't think that. Nobody could.")

For someone so pretty and smart and blameless, Spencer seems to take a hell of a lot of crap from everybody, so it's good that she has -- oh, yes, just there, take her hand when she starts tearing up and getting bitter. Good boy. Good show.

Sideship: ...well, that was dull. I did like the first scene that was a sneak peek, though. The one where he is sensible about how going public at a funeral by an open grave was maybe not the best of circumstances. all around. and they should ease her parents into seeing them together. You know where we should start spending time again? Ezra's apartment. That place is great. It has a sofa. And no other people.

Up next: hospital stuff! May have to resort to full episodes again out of impatience. Cannot give two figs about Emily (newsflash, injury/illness only works if there are dashing men about!), but promo pictures are extremely promising on the Sideship front.